Canada's Bill C-6: Law Implementation Date?

Bill C-6, also known as An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), was introduced in the House of Commons on October 1, 2020, by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti. The bill aimed to criminalize conversion therapy and protect the rights and equality of LGBTQ2 individuals in Canada. It proposed to define conversion therapy and create five new offences to prohibit activities such as causing minors to undergo conversion therapy, removing minors from Canada for conversion therapy abroad, and advertising or profiting from conversion therapy. The bill passed its second reading on October 28, 2020, and was adopted by the House on June 22, 2021. However, it died on the Order Paper when Parliament was dissolved on August 15, 2021.

Criminalising conversion therapy for minors

Conversion therapy is a harmful practice that has been denounced by many professional associations, including the Canadian Psychiatric Association and the Canadian Psychological Association. It refers to any formal therapeutic attempt to change the sexual orientation of bisexual, gay, and lesbian individuals to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to cisgender. This practice is particularly harmful to minors and can result in serious psychological harm, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. As such, there have been efforts in Canada to criminalise conversion therapy for minors, as outlined in Bill C-6.

Bill C-6: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Conversion Therapy)

Bill C-6 is a proposed legislation introduced in the House of Commons on October 1, 2020, by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti. The bill aims to amend the Criminal Code to prohibit certain activities related to conversion therapy and protect the human dignity and equality of all Canadians, including LGBTQ2 individuals. It defines conversion therapy as:

> "...any service, practice, or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual, gender identity to one that matches the sex assigned at birth, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual sexual attraction or sexual behaviours."

Offences Created by Bill C-6

The bill proposes to create five new Criminal Code offences specifically regarding minors:

• Causing minors to undergo conversion therapy: This offence carries a maximum penalty of 5 years' imprisonment on indictment and 2 years less a day on summary conviction.
• Removing minors from Canada to undergo conversion therapy abroad: This offence has a maximum penalty of 5 years' imprisonment on indictment and 2 years less a day on summary conviction.
• Causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will: The maximum penalty for this offence is 5 years' imprisonment on indictment and 2 years less a day on summary conviction.
• Profiting or receiving a material benefit from conversion therapy: This offence carries a maximum penalty of 2 years' imprisonment on indictment and 2 years less a day on summary conviction.
• Advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy: The maximum penalty for this offence is 2 years' imprisonment on indictment and 2 years less a day on summary conviction.

Protection for Minors

Bill C-6 ensures that minors are protected from conversion therapy by creating a comprehensive criminal law ban on providing or facilitating the provision of such therapy to minors, whether within or outside Canada. This is because studies show that minors are particularly susceptible to the harms caused by conversion therapy. The bill also addresses the concern that conversion therapy providers may not be medical professionals and, therefore, may not be qualified to assess a minor's capacity to consent to treatment. By drawing a hard line at 18 years of age, the bill ensures that all vulnerable youth are protected.

International Context

Canada is at the forefront of efforts to address conversion therapy, with Malta being the only other jurisdiction known to have criminalised various aspects of the practice. The European Parliament has also passed a resolution condemning conversion therapy and urging European Union member states to ban it. The United Kingdom has also announced its intention to bring forward proposals to ban conversion therapy.

Protecting LGBTQ2+ rights

Bill C-6, an Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), was introduced in the House of Commons on October 1, 2020, by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti. The bill aimed to protect the human dignity and equality of LGBTQ2+ people by ending conversion therapy in Canada. Conversion therapy refers to any formal therapeutic attempt to change the sexual orientation of bisexual, gay, and lesbian individuals to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to cisgender. The bill passed its second reading on October 28, 2020, and its third reading on June 22, 2021. However, the bill did not become law as the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session ended in August 2021.

Bill C-6 proposed to define conversion therapy and create five new offences to protect:

• All Canadians from the commercialization of the practice.
• All children (persons under 18 years) from being subjected to conversion therapy, whether in Canada or abroad.
• Anyone at risk of being forced to undergo conversion therapy.

The bill defined "conversion therapy" as any "practice, treatment, or service designed to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour." The definition included two key elements: the intervention must be established or formalized and offered to the public or a specific group, and it must be designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or behaviour.

The bill also contained a "for greater certainty" clause, clarifying that the definition of conversion therapy did not include practices, treatments, or services related to a person's gender transition or exploration and development of their identity. This ensured that legitimate gender-affirming practices were not criminalized.

The five new offences proposed by Bill C-6 included:

• Causing minors to undergo conversion therapy: This offence would protect children from being subjected to conversion therapy, whether in Canada or abroad. It would carry a maximum penalty of 5 years' imprisonment on indictment and 2 years less a day on summary conviction.
• Removing minors from Canada to undergo conversion therapy abroad: This offence would prohibit facilitating the removal of a child from Canada, knowing that the purpose is to subject them to conversion therapy abroad. It would carry the same maximum penalty as the first offence.
• Causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will: This offence would protect anyone at risk of being forced to undergo conversion therapy without their consent. It would carry the same maximum penalty as the first two offences.
• Profiting or receiving a material benefit from conversion therapy: This offence would criminalize anyone receiving fees or other benefits from providing conversion therapy. The maximum penalty would be 2 years' imprisonment on indictment and 2 years less a day on summary conviction.
• Advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy: This offence would prohibit anyone from advertising conversion therapy services, regardless of whether a fee is charged. The maximum penalty would be 2 years' imprisonment on indictment and 2 years less a day on summary conviction.

Bill C-6's main objective was to protect the dignity and equality of LGBTQ2+ individuals by ending conversion therapy, a discriminatory practice causing harm to those subjected to it. The bill recognized that conversion therapy sends a message that a person's sexual orientation or gender identity is a transitory state that can and should be changed, which is anathema to Canadian values and the Charter, which protects the equality rights of all Canadians, including LGBTQ2+ people.

Defining conversion therapy

Conversion therapy refers to any formal therapeutic attempt to change the sexual orientation of bisexual, gay, and lesbian individuals to heterosexual. It also includes efforts to change a person's gender identity to cisgender or to suppress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour. Conversion therapy can take many forms, including counselling, behavioural modification, and talk therapy, and may be offered by professionals, religious officials, or laypersons.

The Canadian Psychological Association defines conversion therapy as:

> "any formal therapeutic attempt to change the sexual orientation of bisexual, gay and lesbian individuals to heterosexual."

The American Psychological Association uses the term "sexual orientation change efforts" (SOCE) to describe methods that aim to change a person's same-sex sexual orientation to an other-sex sexual orientation. SOCE can include behavioural techniques, psychoanalytic techniques, medical approaches, and religious and spiritual approaches.

The term SOCE has also been expanded to include "gender identity change efforts" (SOGICE), which refer to methods that aim to change the gender identity or gender expression of an individual.

Conversion therapy was first developed in the 19th century when same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults was considered a crime punishable by imprisonment in Canada. Within the mental health profession, homosexuality was viewed as a pathology or mental illness. Psychiatrists offered treatments to "correct" or "repair" homosexuality, including family dynamics interventions, aversion techniques (such as electric shock treatments and induced nausea and vomiting), behavioural interventions (such as dating skills and assertiveness training), and cognitive interventions (such as reframing of thoughts and desires).

However, research conducted in the 1950s and 1960s found homosexuality to be a normal variation of human sexual behaviour. As a result, there were significant shifts in societal views, and the Parliament of Canada decriminalised private same-sex sexual acts between two people over the age of 21.

In response to scientific and societal advances, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association reviewed the scientific literature in the early 1970s and concluded that homosexuality was not a psychological disorder. It was removed from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973, and from the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases in 1990. As a result, conversion therapy was gradually removed from mainstream mental health practice.

Despite this, some mental health professionals continued to provide a form of conversion therapy, referred to as "reparative therapy". Faith-based organisations also created "ex-gay groups" that offered spiritual healing to individuals engaging in same-sex behaviours or experiencing same-sex attractions. These groups drew on psychoanalytic conversion theories and traditional religious practices such as prayer and scripture reading.

The Harmful Effects of Conversion Therapy

Conversion therapy has been denounced by many professional associations as ineffective and harmful. The American Psychological Association conducted a systematic review of the scientific evidence in 2009 and found that individuals did not experience long-lasting changes in their sexual orientation after being exposed to SOCE. The review also found that exposure to SOCE resulted in significant harms, including loss of sexual feeling, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, impotence, and relationship dysfunction.

The Canadian Psychological Association has stated that scientific research does not support the efficacy of conversion therapy and that it "can result in negative outcomes such as distress, anxiety, depression, negative self-image, a feeling of personal failure, difficulty sustaining relationships, and sexual dysfunction."

The Canadian Paediatric Society has recommended against providing conversion therapy to minors, as it reinforces the anxiety and guilt that adolescents experience in coming to terms with their sexual orientation or gender identity, leading to poor mental health outcomes.

The Legal Context of Conversion Therapy in Canada

The federal government introduced Bill C-6 to amend the Criminal Code and criminalise certain activities related to conversion therapy. The bill defines conversion therapy as:

> "any service, practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual, gender identity to one that matches the sex assigned at birth, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual sexual attraction or sexual behaviours."

The bill aims to protect the human dignity and equality of all Canadians by criminalising the following activities:

• Promoting or advertising services related to conversion therapy;
• Forcing persons or causing a child to undergo conversion therapy;
• Removing a child from Canada to undergo conversion therapy abroad;
• Receiving a material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy.

The bill does not criminalise the provision of conversion therapy to a consenting adult if no money or other material benefit is received. Additionally, it does not criminalise the receipt of conversion therapy services, whether by adults or minors.

Conversion therapy is a harmful practice that has been discredited by scientific evidence and denounced by professional associations. It perpetuates myths and stereotypes about LGBTQ2+ individuals and can result in serious negative consequences for those subjected to it. The Canadian government's introduction of Bill C-6 aims to protect the rights and dignity of LGBTQ2+ individuals by criminalising certain activities related to conversion therapy.

Criminalising advertising of conversion therapy

Bill C-6, introduced in the Canadian House of Commons on October 27, 2020, is an Act to amend the Criminal Code to prohibit certain activities related to conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is defined as practices, treatments, or services designed to change an individual's sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, or to reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour.

One of the key provisions of the Bill is the criminalisation of advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy. This measure is intended to reduce the presence of public messaging that suggests an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity can and should be changed. By criminalising the advertising of conversion therapy, the Bill aims to protect all Canadians from the negative messages associated with this harmful practice.

The advertising of conversion therapy is included in the list of new offences that would be enacted by the Bill. Specifically, it would be prohibited to promote or advertise an offer to provide conversion therapy. Courts would also be authorised to order the seizure and forfeiture of advertisements for conversion therapy or their removal from computer systems and the Internet.

The criminalisation of advertising conversion therapy is consistent with the overall objective of Bill C-6, which is to promote the human dignity and equality of all Canadians, including LGBTQ2 individuals. By deterring the commercialisation of conversion therapy, the Bill seeks to avoid psychological harm to individuals and uphold the dignity and equality rights of marginalised groups.

While the Bill proposes criminalising the advertising of conversion therapy, it is important to note that it would not prohibit private conversations or discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity with counsellors, family members, religious officials, or other supportive individuals. The focus of the legislation is on banning the practice of conversion therapy itself, rather than restricting legitimate explorations of one's identity.

Criminalising profiting from conversion therapy

Bill C-6, also known as An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), was introduced in the House of Commons on 1 October 2020 by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti. The bill aimed to criminalise profiting from conversion therapy and protect the human dignity and equality of all Canadians, particularly those from the LGBTQ2+ community.

Conversion therapy is defined as any service, practice, or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or their gender identity to one that matches the sex assigned at birth. The bill would have prohibited:

• Forcing a person or causing a child to undergo conversion therapy without their consent
• Removing a child from Canada to undergo conversion therapy abroad
• Promoting or advertising services related to conversion therapy
• Receiving a material benefit from providing conversion therapy

The bill did not criminalise the provision of conversion therapy to consenting adults if no money or material benefit was received. It also did not criminalise seeking or receiving conversion therapy.

Bill C-6 was passed by the House of Commons on 22 June 2021 and received its first reading in the Senate on the same date. However, the bill did not become law as the 43rd Parliament was dissolved on 15 August 2021.

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